It's now 86 days until the kickoff of Catamount Football on Thursday, August 29, 2024, against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC
To help pass those long summer days, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful a little more excited about the upcoming season, and knowledgeable of the team members, we'll continue the football countdown each day until kickoff day.
No player is currently assigned to #86 so today we will highlight an assistant coach.
Brian Cochran
TITLE Assistant Coach / Defensive Line
Brian Cochran joined the Catamount football coaching staff as the defensive line coach ahead of spring drills in mid-March 2022. Cochran is a veteran collegiate coach who spent the previous four seasons in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) between both the University of Akron and Kent State University.
Cochran came to Cullowhee having spent the past three seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of Akron. He coached at rival Kent State in 2018 where he mentored second-team All-Mid-American Conference defensive lineman Kalil Morris.
His experience also includes a year in the Southern Conference as he coached the defensive line at Chattanooga in 2017. That season, the Mocs led the league in total defense, allowing just 326.4 yards per game overall and just over 300 yards of offense against conference opponents. UTC also paced the SoCon in pass defense and allowed the second-fewest first downs.
Much of Cochran’s football career has ties in Northeast Ohio. Before his stints at Akron and Kent State, he spent 11 seasons as a coach and four as a player at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, just east of Cleveland. He served in a variety of roles including defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and director of football operations at his alma mater. The Blue Streaks made three NCAA playoff appearances from 2013-16 including a semifinals appearance in 2016, finishing 13th in the nation in rushing defense and averaged just over three sacks per game.
In six of his 10 seasons at JCU, Cochran was the defensive line coach with the squad pacing in the nation in several categories including rushing defense and points allowed per game. His 2015 defensive line unit led the nation in sacks (45) and landed four players on the all-conference team, while JCU’s 2014 NCAA quarterfinalist team ranked seventh in the nation in total defense.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Cochran spent time as a head coach at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, from 2003-06 and as an assistant coach at both MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., and Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. In addition to football where he fostered 10 all-conference selections and one All-American, Cochran was the head wrestling coach at Heidelberg for two years.
A 1990 graduate of John Carroll University, Cochran was an All-American nose tackle as a senior in 1989, helping earn the program’s first NCAA Division III tournament bid. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1990. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 30, 2011.
A native of Painesville, Ohio, Cochran, earned a master’s degree in education from Dayton in 1993.
Cochran came to Cullowhee having spent the past three seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of Akron. He coached at rival Kent State in 2018 where he mentored second-team All-Mid-American Conference defensive lineman Kalil Morris.
His experience also includes a year in the Southern Conference as he coached the defensive line at Chattanooga in 2017. That season, the Mocs led the league in total defense, allowing just 326.4 yards per game overall and just over 300 yards of offense against conference opponents. UTC also paced the SoCon in pass defense and allowed the second-fewest first downs.
Much of Cochran’s football career has ties in Northeast Ohio. Before his stints at Akron and Kent State, he spent 11 seasons as a coach and four as a player at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, just east of Cleveland. He served in a variety of roles including defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and director of football operations at his alma mater. The Blue Streaks made three NCAA playoff appearances from 2013-16 including a semifinals appearance in 2016, finishing 13th in the nation in rushing defense and averaged just over three sacks per game.
In six of his 10 seasons at JCU, Cochran was the defensive line coach with the squad pacing in the nation in several categories including rushing defense and points allowed per game. His 2015 defensive line unit led the nation in sacks (45) and landed four players on the all-conference team, while JCU’s 2014 NCAA quarterfinalist team ranked seventh in the nation in total defense.
Prior to returning to his alma mater, Cochran spent time as a head coach at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, from 2003-06 and as an assistant coach at both MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., and Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. In addition to football where he fostered 10 all-conference selections and one All-American, Cochran was the head wrestling coach at Heidelberg for two years.
A 1990 graduate of John Carroll University, Cochran was an All-American nose tackle as a senior in 1989, helping earn the program’s first NCAA Division III tournament bid. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1990. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 30, 2011.
A native of Painesville, Ohio, Cochran, earned a master’s degree in education from Dayton in 1993.
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